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When I was a child, my dad taught me about guns and fire. Actually, he started me on a 22 short rimfire rifle when I was five. Never allowed to have a BB gun--he thought they were ambiguous--is it a toy or a weapon? It could certainly put an eye out. In the case of guns and fire, dad said they were very powerful and could be used for good (like finding dinner and cooking it) or they could be misused, either negligently or willfully.

Like BB guns, we have some ambiguous tools today, too. And these tools can be used for good or they can be misused. I am speaking of Facebook and LinkedIn. Are they toys, weapons, or something else? Here at our company, we use them as tools.

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Listen to industry news on Pulp & Paper Radio International!

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As a major electronic publisher in the pulp and paper industry worldwide, we are constantly looking for ways to reach the people that we think might be interested in our content and not bother those that do not. Over the years, I like to think we have become very good at this. This means we have become very good at understanding various platforms that are in common use. Heck, we have even found a use for twitter, although it took us a long time (see www.simultweet.com)--we use it alongside our radio programs on Pulp & Paper Radio International (www.pnpri.com) to supplement the audio information.

But I digress. Let's talk about what you are doing on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Here is what I mean. There is a certain prospect we have been targeting for a long time. Can't seem to get anywhere with them. Couldn't figure out why, until I saw them pop up commenting on a post on Facebook made by someone I might consider a competitor with whom I happen to be "friends." Aha! Now I understand one more piece of the puzzle that needs to be addressed if I ever hope that certain prospect will help spin my invoice printer. This reminds me of that old canard, "Don't burn bridges." At least I now know what bridge may be on fire.

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Thanks and a question which you likely can't answer ... Check out the latest edition of Strategic & Financial Arguments.

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Then on LinkedIn, I saw a mistake. A certain person I know has been experiencing some difficulty in their job lately, and just may be looking for another. What did they do? They started following a company that is a competitor to their employer. How do I know this? They had failed to set their privacy settings to keep from revealing this timely bit of news to everyone who follows them, who, besides me, may just include their boss or HR Department. If I could have counseled them before this happened, I would have said fix your settings.

Now, I'll hasten to say, we want you to use LinkedIn. We think it is a great tool whose utility has just begun to be discovered. But, like all tools, it needs to be used with care.

I'll give you a quiz break this week, but if you want to make a comment, use the Facebook comment app below.

For safety this week, some of these electronic tools can be very helpful in notification (twitter, for instance) and training in your mill. Your only limitations are your imagination and your IT department's policies!

Be safe and we will talk next week.

You can own your Nip Impressions Library by ordering "Raising EBITDA ... the lessons of Nip Impressions."